Have you ever been at a point in your life where you are
thrust into the unknown, uncertain where to turn, what to do next?
Where you are suddenly walking down a hallway, knocking on
doors, seeing what opens…but the hallway is dark and you cannot even see in
front of you. Do you go to the right, to the left, to a door creaking behind
you, to one in front of you that swings open?
I am there today.
A young professional suddenly in the throes of the unknown
again. With the unexpected layoffs at a job and community I have been at for 7
years. A city I have become familiar with, a community I hold dear.
What does my future hold? What sort of work am I supposed to
pursue? What are my biggest priorities? Where is my life headed in the next
year? Next ten years?
I have been thrust into a maelstrom of uncertainty. Those
waves and that storm and that boat? I’m in that boat with Peter. The storm will
threaten to overtake me, if I let it.
Where is this boat headed, and who can calm this stormy
heart?
And I hear a Voice saying to me, “Don’t waste this”
Don’t waste this sacred time, this blessed bewilderment
where the only certainty I have is that Divine arms are holding me.
Don’t waste this opportunity to watch the Lord walk on the
waters and part the seas. Because this storm is a sacrament where the Savior is
seen with piercing clarity.
Every storm in our life gives us the opportunity to see Him
in an unrepeatable way. And crisis intensifies the storm. Every storm reminds
us how desperately we are in need of a divine Rescuer.
Tell us where to go,
Lord.
Soon enough the storm will settle. Our hearts will settle. I
will settle. I will settle into a new life, new routine, new normal. Soon
enough, I will be comfortable again.
But for now I am unsettled. I am bewildered, and I am
blessed.
